Expert .NET 2.0 IL Assembler

Expert .NET 2.0 IL Assember drills down into the internal structures and operations of the .NET common language runtime and teaches you how to master the IL assembly language, ILAsm. The rule of thumb is that if the runtime can do it, ILAsm must be able to express it. This book is ideal if you're a compiler and tool developer, a developer working on multi-language .NET projects, or if you just want to develop tighter, faster code for the .NET Framework.

• This comprehensive book provides a spectrum of information, from IL Assembler and Disassembler to metadata structures and exception handling.
• This is the second edition of a successful and well-respected .NET 1.1 book.
• Includes detailed, hard-to-find information on the APIs exposed by the .NET 2.0 runtime.
• This is the only definitive guide to Microsoft IL on .NET 2.0.

Topics include managed executable file structure, metadata table structure, Microsoft IL instructions, structured exception handling, managed and unmanaged code interoperation, executable file generation, and metadata manipulation API exposed by the common language runtime.

Part 1. Quick Start: Simple Sample.- Enhancing the Code.- Making the Coding Easier.- Part 2. Underlying Structures: The Structure of a Managed Executable File.- Metadata Tables Organization.- Part 3. Fundamental Components: Modules and Assemblies.- Namespaces and Classes.- Primitive Types and Signatures.- Fields and Data Constants.- Methods.- Generic Types.- Generic Methods.- Part 4. Inside the Execution Engine: IL Instructions.- Structured Exception Handling.- Part 5. Special Components: Events and Properties.- Custom Attributes.- Security Attributes.- Part 6. Interoperation: Managed and Unmanaged Code Interoperation.- Multilanguage Projects. Part 7. Do-It-Yourself: Metadata Manipulation API.- Managed Executable Generation API.- Appendixes. A IL Assembler Grammar Reference.- B Metadata Tables Reference.- C IL Instruction Set Reference.- D IL Assembler and Disassembler Command-Line Options.- E Offline Verification Tool Reference.

Serge Lidin is a software development engineer for Microsoft in Washington state.